| WE GET LETTERS |  |
| 5 Roble Court Berkeley, CA 94705 August 10, 1992 Ron Jones, Editor The Desert Sage 119 N. Helen Drive Fullerton, CA 92635 |
Dear Ron,
I noted in the July Sage that Georgie White Clark passed away recently. I remember Georgie well, also her daughter Sommona Rose and then husband, Whitey. I was with them on a Sierra Club trip July 4-5, 1942, to overnight at Desert Steve Ragsdale's place on Santa Rosa Mountain and to hike Toro Peak. Two weeks later Georgie, Sommona, Rhoda Goerz and I bicycled from Rhoda's home in Flintridge to Pop's Willow Lake on Foothill Blvd to join other Sierra Clubbers for fun and games. Afterwards we bicycled the 14 miles back to Rhoda's, then drove to Ice House Canyon to spend the night. On Sunday we joined a club hike to Kelly's Camp and Ontario Peak.
In October 1942 Georgie, Fred Walbrecht, Bob Nightengale and I joined Harry Paley in his indefatigable Ford pickup for a trip to White Mountain. We drove to our campsite in Campito Meadow via Wyman Canyon. The next day we made the long, cold climb of the peak. With White Mountain, Harry and Freda became the third and fourth DPS members (and list finishers). I notice from Bill Russell's very useful list of DPS Emblemees that Georgie became the 28th emblem holder in April 1948, several years after Harry Aleson hooked her on river running and the Colorado River for the rest of her long, vigorous life. Chronicle Books published her story in the book "Georgie Clark-Thirty Years of River Running" some years ago.
I last saw Georgie during rock climbing practice on Mt. Pacifico in June 1943. Our paths never crossed after that. Sadly, her daughter, Sommona Rose, was killed by a hit-and-run driver in June 1944 while she and Georgie were bicycling up the coast toward Santa Barbara. I heard of Georgie and her river running accomplishments from time to time and always have regretted that I never joined her for a run on the Colorado. She was quite a woman!
Best regards, Fred Johnson |
At long last, Bob Hicks, Duane McRuer, and I will be finishing the DPS list on 10/17 on Pleasant.
Anyone interested in joining this non-club activity can drop me a self-addressed stamped envelope by 10/10 for details.
Regards, |
Douglas L. Mantle P.O. Box 26006 Glendale, CA 91202-2950 |